


Knives and Nine Lives

by astudyinfic



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Birthdays, Fluff, Gifts, Humor, M/M, They deserve each other so much, but so is Zane, ty is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: Ty knew that tone.  He dreaded that tone. The tone that said one of the cats was in trouble but he would be the one to pay for it.But maybe an early birthday gift would calm his husband's temper a little?  Ty could only hope.
Relationships: Zane Garrett/Ty Grady
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Knives and Nine Lives

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm a day late for his birthday but better late than never, right? And really, it's the thought that counts. 
> 
> Happy birthday, Zane!

"Grady!"

Zane's voice carried through the store and Ty grimaced at the warning he heard there. He knew that tone, already knew what it was about. There was only one thing in their lives that could make Zane sound like that. "Which one and what did they do?" he asked, stepping out from behind the shelves he'd been working on. He'd been organizing all the books by size, just to watch Zane lose his shit later when he found it. That was always entertaining. 

Not that he was going to mention it right now. 

"One of your furballs knocked over the Halloween display again," he grumbled, gesturing at the table filled with ghost stories, zombie stories, and everything spooky they could find. In the middle of the chaos sat one small, orange cat, licking his paw and looking damn pleased with himself. 

Ty smiled fondly and picked Jiminy up, rocking him in his arms like a baby. "He just wanted to be part of the display. He's basically like a big furry pumpkin."

Zane rolled his eyes and shook his head, his typical response whenever Ty treated one of the cats like their children. Ty knew he secretly loved it and he knew that Zane snuck treats to both cats when Ty wasn't looking. His husband wasn't nearly as sneaky as he was. "Go make a display at the back of the store for him, if that's what he wants. I can't keep stopping to reset this one every time one of them starts pushing things over."

He probably could stop and reset things every time because the store did steady but slow business. One or two customers at any given time, enough to keep them open (if the CIA ever decided to leave them to their own devices), but not busy enough that Zane couldn't pick up a few books that had been knocked over. 

But his husband seemed pissier than normal, his frown firmly on his handsome features and Ty decided not to push it for now. In fact, he had the perfect way to cheer his husband up. "Stay here," he told Zane, smiling as he turned on his heel and headed for the stairs that led to their apartment upstairs. He dropped Jiminy on the couch next to his sister and grabbed the package he had stowed in the back of the closet. He was back downstairs in under two minutes and Zane was exactly where he left him. 

Ty patted Zane on the head. "Good boy," he cooed, earning a deeper scowl as Zane batted his hand away. "I was saving this for your birthday but it's only two days from now and I feel like you need it now more than you would on the actual day." They'd be heading down to Bluefield after work that day to spend Zane's birthday with family. Mara was baking a bitter cherry pie just for them since it was Zane's favorite for sentimental reasons. Ty had planned on giving Zane his gift there, but he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Why'd you get me something? You didn't need to do that," Zane protested, even as he grabbed the package and started to open it. He dropped the paper on the floor and opened the small black pouch that had been wrapped inside. "Wha...?"

Ty didn't even try to hold back his smile. He knew he'd done well this year and he knew Zane would love it, even if he was protesting now. "I thought you could use some new knives," Ty told him. "The ones you have are good for work but I thought maybe a nice set for practicing wouldn't go amiss." He actually expected Zane would start using these as his everyday knives but didn't say that out loud. He didn't want Zane to feel pressured to do that. 

Zane pulled one out and examined it in the light. Each knife was a different color, all metallic and shiny (and perfectly weighted because Ty wasn't about to give him an inferior product). The one in Zane's hand was a deep purple that almost looked black in the shadow. It was Ty's favorite if he was being honest and his smile grew even bigger.

Flipping the knife around in his hand for a moment, with a flick of his wrist, Zane sent the thing flying across the room to lodge in the banister leading up to their home. "Thank you, doll. These are...these are amazing."

He plucked the package from Zane's hand and pointed to each of the colors. "It's a pride flag! I got you pride knives!" 

"Yes you did," Zane replied, smiling for perhaps the first time all day. "Thank you. I love them." Zane closed the pouch and slipped it into his back pocket. Then he pulled Ty close for a quick kiss. "And I love you."

Ty wrapped his arms behind Zane's neck. "I love you too, baby. Sorry, my cats keep breaking things. Probably not how you wanted your birthday week to go."

With another kiss, Zane smiled against Ty’s lips. “I really don’t mind them. I just wanted you to stop messing up the shelves.”

Gaping at him, Ty couldn’t think of anything to say. Zane _knew_? Damn, he loved that man so much. “You...you got what you wanted AND I gave you your present early?”

“Yep, worked even better than I expected when I put Jiminy in the middle of the table.” 

Zane was smart enough to be moving before he finished that sentence because Ty was on his heels. He paused only long enough to lock the front door and hope there weren’t any customers in the shop. It would be difficult to explain why they'd abandoned the people in the shop so he could follow his husband upstairs, their laughter echoing off the walls. 

Ty grabbed the knife from the wall where Zane had thrown it and tossed it around once to get a better grip on it. He smiled as he took the stairs two at a time. They could start Zane's birthday weekend a little early, he reasoned, hitting the lights when he reached the top of the stairs. Zane definitely deserved it. 

And after that crap he pulled downstairs, he definitely deserved what Ty was going to do to him when they reached the bedroom. 

They would both enjoy _that_.


End file.
